PM Modi, Xi meeting in Kazan carries 'great significance' to improve bilateral ties: China

Beijing: China on Thursday said the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia's Kazan on Wednesday carries a “great significance” as they reached an “important common understandings” to improve the bilateral ties.

“They reached important common understandings on improving and developing China-India relations and set the course to steer bilateral relations back on the path of steady development”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing here.

Replying to a question on how Beijing viewed the outcome of the meeting, Lin said, China stands ready to work with India to view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective.

China is also ready to step up communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust, properly handle differences, and bring bilateral relations back to the path of steady development as soon as possible, Lin said.

Modi and Xi, who met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit at Kazan, endorsed Monday’s India-China agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Following it, directions were issued to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms, signalling attempts to normalise ties that were hit by a deadly military clash in 2020.

Asked about a Chinese official media report stating that “Modi made suggestions on improving and developing the relationship, which Xi agreed to in principle”, Lin said “both sides were of the view that this meeting is constructive and carries great significance”.

“They agreed to view and handle China-India relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship, and contribute to maintaining regional and global peace and prosperity and to advancing multiplicity in the world,” he said.

The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust by holding talks between their foreign ministers and officials at various levels to bring the relationship back to steady development at an early date, he added.

The two leaders also have agreed to “make good use of the Special Representatives mechanism on the China-India boundary question, ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, find a fair and reasonable settlement, step up communication and cooperation in multilateral fora, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries,” the spokesperson said.

The Special Representatives mechanism, currently headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, played a key role in the past to develop and improve the relations since it was set up in 2003 with 22 meetings to address the boundary question.

The last meeting between Doval and Wang under the mechanism was held in 2019.

Relations between the two countries nosedived after the May 2020 incursion by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh in which the People Liberation Army (PLA) moved a large number troops exercising in the vicinity to the LAC, which was followed by the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

On Monday, India and China firmed up an agreement on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

On the meeting between the two leaders, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a media briefing at Kazan, said that both Modi and Xi stressed that India and China can have a “peaceful, stable and beneficial bilateral relationship” with maturity and wisdom, and by showing mutual respect for each other's sensitivities, interests, concerns and aspirations.

Referring to New Delhi's consistent position on the eastern Ladakh row, Misri said restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas will create space for returning towards the path of normalisation of bilateral relations between the two sides.

In the coming weeks and months, both the countries are expected to revive the ties with a flurry of high level visits to improve the relations on all fronts.